Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
  • F42D—BLASTING
  • F42D1/00—Blasting methods or apparatus, e.g. loading or tamping
  • F42D1/04—Arrangements for ignition
  • F42D1/045—Arrangements for electric ignition
  • F42D1/05—Electric circuits for blasting

Definitions

• a shooting campaign consists of carrying out a plurality of holes in the rock, which are filled with explosives, with each detonator allowing a firing. Some of these detonators are electronically controlled, which makes it possible to program the execution of the explosions according to a predetermined firing plan.
• the execution of a firing plan therefore consists, after having placed all the detonators in the holes drilled and having connected them to a control unit, to identify each detonator by a serial number and to apply a delay time to it which will determine the moment of ignition of the load compared to a general firing top.
• the present invention relates to such an installation of programmable pyrotechnic shots in which all the detonators are connected to the control unit by wires.
• an electronic detonator comprises a pyrotechnic primer, an energy reserve, an electronic pilot and two electrical conductors which connect the electronic pilot to a firing line which circulates on the ground from a central programming and control unit.
• the electronic pilot includes an on-board microprocessor through which communication can take place between the detonator and the central unit.
• the microprocessor is programmed or programmable to be able to receive requests sent in the line of fire by the central unit and to respond to these requests either towards the central unit or towards the energy reserve which it will release with a determined delay time when the firing order is received from the central unit.
• the programming of the on-board microprocessor in the electronic detonator pilot can be done a priori before it is set up in the shooting range or, as is the case for the invention, a posteriori after being set up.
• the firing line on the ground also serves to provide the electrical energy necessary to fill the energy reserve and this just before firing in order to meet the security conditions requiring that the detonators be inactivable until the last moment.
• a line of fire can have a length of the order of a kilometer. For this reason, in current installations, it is relatively simple to transmit signals from the control unit to the address of each detonator as far as it can be from the control unit, since from the control unit has full control over the energy required to supply these signals so that they reach their target.
• a detonator has very little on-board energy and if one wishes that it can respond to the central unit, one notes that the limited power of the signals which it emits undergoes a strong attenuation which makes them almost inaudible by the central unit if the detonator-transmitter is distant from it on the firing line.
• the present invention is a solution to this problem of bidirectional communication between a central unit and each of the detonators of a firing line, a simple and economical solution.
• the subject of the invention is an installation of programmable pyrotechnic shots comprising a programming and control unit for shots, a programming and control line comprising two conducting wires and a plurality of electronic detonators mounted in parallel on this line.
• the programming unit includes means for establishing a direct voltage between the two wires, means for generating pulses of this voltage to form coded signals, and means for reading variations in current existing on the two-wire line while each detonator comprises an electronic module capable of generating, in response to some of the signals coded from the programming unit, corresponding to requests from the latter, pulses of current in the two-wire line to form coded signals.
• a detonator when a detonator, whatever its position on the firing line, has to respond to a request from the central processing unit, it will generate overcurrent peaks in the wired firing line, for example by closing the line on a resistor calibrated in a given time and this, according to a pulse program corresponding to a code generated by the on-board microprocessor, these overcurrent peaks being immediately detectable by the central unit which, by means of 'a resistance, will convert them into a modulated voltage able to be interpreted by its microprocessor, this constituting the response of the detonator concerned to the request of this central unit.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an installation of pyrotechnic fire
• FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a central unit for programming and controlling the installation
• FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of the part of the electronic pilot of each detonator concerned by the dialogue with the central programming unit. mation and control.
• holes 1 were drilled in a rock 2, for example from the ground 3.
• detonators 4 and explosive charges 5 were put in place, each detonator 4 being connected to a ground firing line 6 by conductors 7.
• a central programming and control unit is shown at 8, connected to the firing line 6.
• This unit 8 comprises a microprocessor 9 which acts on a device 10 for supplying DC supply voltage between the two wires 6a, 6b of line 6 and which makes it possible to insert into this DC voltage sequences of drop in voltage to form slots corresponding to any type of binary coding of a signal.
• the central unit 8 is provided with a device 11 for converting the current flowing on the line 6a, 6b into voltage in order to make variations of this current understandable by the microprocessor 9.
• the electronic pilot 12 of the detonator shown schematically and partially in FIG. 3, comprises a voltage regulator 13, the input of which is connected to line 6a, and the output to an on-board microprocessor 14, in order to constitute a supply for this microprocessor 14 increased by a capacity 15 making it possible to smooth the drops in voltage in the line 6.
• This pilot 12 also includes a circuit 16 for detecting the codes conveyed by the line 6, the input of which is also connected to the line 6a and whose output is directed to the microprocessor 14. Between the lines 6a and 6b, the electronic pilot 12 has a current draw circuit 17 for example a transistor and a resistor, controlled by the microprocessor 14. Finally, the microprocessor 14 controls a switch 18 of the li- gene 6a, in a manner which will be explained below.
• Each of the detonators 1 is connected to the two-wire line 6a, 6b in parallel with the latter at point A, B (FIG. 3).
• this electronic pilot 12 come out four wires 19, 20, 21, 22 which form the conductors 7 of FIG. 1.
• the wires 19 and 20 make it possible to connect the pilot to the wires 6a and 6b of the firing line.
• the line 6a has a section 23 internal to the pilot 12 which comprises the switch 18 and which emerges from the pilot by the line 21 becoming 6a at the level of the ground surface.
• the line 6b has a section 24 internal to the pilot which by the conductor 22 comes out of the borehole to constitute the wire 6b of the firing line at ground level.
• the switch 18 When the detonators are placed in the boreholes, the switch 18 is open. The electronic pilots are connected one after the other. It is understood by this arrangement that the first detonator connected to the unit 8 is mounted in series on the line 6a, 6b as long as the switch 18 is open. When the switch 18 is closed, this detonator is mounted in parallel with the next on line 6a, 6b.
• the central unit 8 establishes a voltage, for example 24 or 48 volts at the terminals of the conductors 6a, 6b.
• This voltage regulated by the device 13, constitutes the supply of the processor 14 as well as the load of the capacity 15.
• the microprocessor 9 of the central unit 8 transmits to the pilot 12 a serial number recorded by the microprocessor 14, and a certain delay time.
• the operating sequence of the microprocessor 9 can then comprise a request (a binary signal on the voltage of the line 6) to which the microprocessor 14 will respond by acting on the current draw circuit 17 to create overcurrent peaks which, converted by device 11 will be assimilated as a response to its request by the microprocessor 9.
• the last order transmitted by the microprocessor 9 to the on-board microprocessor 14 will be to close the switch 18.
• the pilot of the next detonator is in the same state with respect to of the central processing unit 8 that the previous pilot and the programming sequence can start again.
• the microprocessor 9 can include in its program other steps and other requests concerning the detonators. It will then transmit a general order to all the detonators to charge the energy reserve, not shown in the figures, followed if necessary by a verification of the state of this reserve and finally transmit to all the detonators a top firing.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Air Bags (AREA)
• Rigid Pipes And Flexible Pipes (AREA)
• Supports For Pipes And Cables (AREA)
• Storage Device Security (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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Families Citing this family (6)

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• 2001
  • 2001-11-19 FR FR0114916A patent/FR2832501B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2002
  • 2002-11-14 WO PCT/FR2002/003891 patent/WO2003044451A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2002-11-14 DE DE60225055T patent/DE60225055D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-11-14 US US10/495,848 patent/US20050016407A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-11-14 AU AU2002358894A patent/AU2002358894B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2002-11-14 CA CA002467808A patent/CA2467808C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-11-14 EP EP02793234A patent/EP1456598B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-11-14 AT AT02793234T patent/ATE386250T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2004
  • 2004-05-19 ZA ZA200403856A patent/ZA200403856B/xx unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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